USA > New York > New York City > History of New Netherland; or, New York under the Dutch, Vol. II > Part 25
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David Provoost, former commissary of Fort Good Hope, was the first sheriff of this district. He was succeeded in January, 1656, by Pieter Tonneman, who acted until August, 1660, when Adriaen Hegeman was appointed. The salary of this officer was 200 gl. a year, with half the " civil" fines imposed by the court, and one-third of the " criminal" fines levied by each town, together with certain
fees, as clerk, for entries and transcripts. Bushwyck and New Utrecht were annexed to this jurisdiction in 1661, when it was called the district of the " Five Dutch Towns." It became afterwards, with New Town and Staten Island, the west riding of Yorkshire; and in 1673, on the recon- quest of the country, Gravesend and the "five" Dutch towns were erected into a separate district under a charter
1 Alb. Rec. x., 36, 342.
% Ibid. xix., 91.
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HISTORY OF
BOOK of incorporation from Governor Colve,1 and now constitute V. the county of Kings.
1654.
Hitherto, however, the Dutch towns had neither cler- gyman nor church, and the inhabitants, of necessity, at- tended divine worship at New Amsterdam. The Rev- erend Johannes Theodorus Polhemus, who had been previously minister at Itamarca in Brazil, having now arrived in the province, received a call from Midwout, where a small cruciform church, some sixty feet by twenty- eight, was soon after erected by general subscription. It was the first Dutch church on Long Island : the congrega- tion was composed of the adjoining towns, and here divine service was performed every Sunday morning ; the after- noon sermon being preached alternately at Breukelen and Amersfoort.2
Affairs on the South River were, meanwhile, approaching
1 Alb. Rec. ix., 118, 226; x., 16, 47, 79, 115, 240, 302 ; xi., 187 ; Flatbush Rec. Strong, Hist. Flatbush, (New York, 1842,) p. 26, copying, we presume, Wood, refers the establishment of the district of the " Five Dutch Towns " to a period subsequent to the surrender of this colony to the English. This is an error. It existed in 1661.
2 N. A. Rec. ; Alb. Rec. iv., 179; ix., 238, 302 ; x., 332. Dominie Polhemus was joined by his wife, Catharine, in 1656. He had two children, Theodorus and Daniel, from whom have descended all those of the name in this country. By the arrival of the Rev. Mr. Selyns, in 1660, Breukelen was separated from the church of Flatbush. In 1665, the congregation of Amersfoort demanded to be put on an equal footing with that of Flatbush, in respect to church service, and that Mr. P. should preach each alternate Sunday forenoon to them, for which they would pay him 400 gl. a year, "light money," being the same as he got from Flatbush. The latter congregation objected to this arrangement, and per- sisted in retaining the Dominie at 400 gl. per annum, " wampum currency." This caused his reverence to appeal to Gov. Nicolls, who decided that each church should have equal attendance, that is, morning and evening service on alternate Sabbaths, for which Amersfoort (now Flattlands) should pay a sum equal to what it agreed to give the Company for tenths, and Midwout fl. 400 a year, until her tenths would be due, when these were to be appropriated as those of Flattlands. Midwout (or Flatbush) would not agree to this, and a sharp letter (June 1st) came in consequence from the Governor's secretary. This was submitted to the congregation on the 18th, who resolved unanimously to content themselves with a Precentor, (voorleezer,) as the congregation was still weak. On the following day a resolution to the same effect was passed at a meeting of the constables, magistrates and consistory of the villages of Amersfoort and Midwout, and Dom. Polhemus was dismissed. [Flatbush Rec.] He died 9th June, 1676, " the worthy and beloved pastor" of the church of Brooklyn, whereby (the Records of that church say) the congregation was " deprived of his pious instructions, godly example, and edifying preaching, es- pecially in the administration of the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,"
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a crisis. Governor Printz having returned to Europe, his CHAP. son-in-law, John Pappegoia, succeeded him in the govern -~
IV. ment over the Swedes.1 Being unprovided with supplies, 1654. these people experienced much suffering, and in despair of receiving any succor, applied to the Dutch to be received as their subjects. Though the Directors in Holland had no objection to accord the right of citizenship to all such as were willing to submit to their laws, Stuyvesant did not encourage the Swedish colonists to abandon their legiti- mate protectors ;2 and in the fall of this year the Swedish Company made a new effort to improve the condition of Oct. 11. their transatlantic settlement, which now numbered only sixteen persons.3 The proposals they offered were, in most respects, similar to those contained in the Dutch charters. All persons establishing on the Company's lands as many settlers as possible at their own expense, were permitted to cultivate the soil free of any charges for a certain number of years, and whoever should purchase land might hold the same forever, " with all the allodial franchises customary" to Sweden. Those who resorted thither in their own vessels were to enjoy freedom of trade on the South River and in the interior, " as well with the savages as Christians and the Company ; and ascend and descend the river free of all duties, except two per cent. ad valorem." Imports into Sweden were to be exempt from all duties and charges. Foreigners, however, were not to be permitted to trade on the South River with the natives-only with the Swedish Company.
John Claude Rysingh, Secretary to the Chamber of
I John Pappegoia came, for the second time, to New Sweden in November, 1643, with a letter of recommendation from the Queen, to Printz, whose daugh- ter he afterwards married. Printz returned to Europe in or about October, 1653, when Pappegoia succeeded him.
2 Alb. Rec. iv., 121 ; Hol. Doc. viii., 84.
3 Van Beuningen, the Dutchi Ambassador to the Court of Sweden, writing from Stockholm to the States General, 11th October, 1653, says : " They are making ready here a ship which is yet to go before winter to New Sweden, with two hundred persons, to plant and benefit the colony which the American Company here hath there. Those that came from thence lately, say they left but sixteen persons there, wherewith three forts were possest." Thurloe's State Papers, i., 524.
VOL. II.
18
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HISTORY OF
BOOK Commerce, was commissioned as Vice Director of New V. Sweden, at a salary of twelve hundred silver dollars, with 1654. an outfit of one thousand more. He was instructed to Dec. 12. fortify the colony and to extend the Swedish possessions, " but without interrupting the friendship existing with the English or Dutch." "With respect to the fortress (Casi- mir) which the Dutch had erected on our coast, if he can- not induce them to abandon it by arguments and serious remonstrances, and without resorting to hostilities," he was to content himself with protests, "and permit the Dutch to occupy this fort, rather than it should fall into the hands of the English, who are the more powerful, and, of course, the most dangerous in that country." But he was ordered, notwithstanding, to construct a fort lower down towards the mouth of the river, "below that of the Dutch, in order to defend the passage and render theirs useless." The mildest measures were to be resorted to, as hostilities would not increase the strength of the Swedes ; on the contrary, they would only result to the advantage of the English, "the very dangerous neighbors to our possessions in the said country." John Amundson Besh, captain in the navy, accompanied Rysingh as military com- mander. On the return of Printz to Europe, Rysingh was to succeed him as Governor, and establish "a council of the best instructed and most noble officers in the country," of which he was to be president, " in such a manner, how- ever, that neither he, in his charge, nor Amundson in his, shall decide or approve anything, without reciprocally con- sulting each other."' Thus instructed and commissioned, he sailed in the Swedish ship, the Aren, for the South River.
May 31. On the evening of the last of May, 1654, Gerrit Bikker, commandant of Fort Casimir, espied a strange sail. Not knowing whence it came, he hoisted the Prince's flag and dispatched Adriaen van Tienhoven to enquire her business, who returned in a short time, with intelligence that it was a Swedish vessel having a new Governor and a number of people on board, who had expressed their de-
1 Hazard's Reg. of Penn. iv., 374, 398-400 ; v., 14.
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termination to reduce the place.1 Van Tienhoven and the CHAP other freemen thereupon called on the commander to de -~ IV. fend the fort, but the latter demurred. " What can I do ? 1654. there is no powder." The Swedes gave them not much time to consider. Swen Schute entered the fort, sword in May 31. hand, at the head of from twenty to thirty men. Bikker instead of offering any resistance, "welcomed them as friends," and struck his flag without firing a shot. The Swedish soldiers then disarmed the garrison, " Bikker re- maining silent all the time." Van Tienhoven, however, obtained permission to return on board the Swedish ship, with a view to obtain some explanation of this violence. Rysingh stated that he was acting in pursuance to orders received from the crown of Sweden, whose ambassadors at the Hague had been told, by the States General and the West India Company, that they had not authorized the erection of this Dutch fort on Swedish soil; the Di- rectors adding, "if our people are in your Excellency's way, drive them off." " Thereupon the Swedish Governor slapped Van Tienhoven on the breast, and said, 'Go! tell your Governor that.'" On Van Tienhoven's return, he found the fort surrounded by Swedish sentinels, by whose permission only he was allowed to enter. The Dutch freemen were permitted to remove, or to remain in the vicinity, as they pleased, but in the latter case they were obliged to swear allegiance to the Swedish crown. Through respect of the day on which this feat was achieved, the name of the fortress was changed to Fort Trinity .? The news of this aggression, committed in time of profound peace and in direct opposition to instructions, caused considerable July 27.
1 Bozman, who has a peculiar aptitude for confounding dates, states that this transaction occurred in 1652. He was led astray apparently by Chalmers, whom he quotes as his authority.
2 Hol. Doc. viii., 45, 46, 85, 90, 106. "On the capture of this fort by the Swedes," (writes Bozman, op. cit. ii., 490,) " the name of it was changed from Niewer Amstel to Fort Casimir, probably in honor of John Casimir, then King of Poland, for whose election Christina had become a zealous advocate." Here is mistake on mistake. It was not called Niewer Amstel until 1656, when it was transferred to the city of Amsterdam. On obtaining possession, the Swedes called it (not Fort Casimir, for that was the name it already had, but) Fort Trinity, from the fact of their acquiring it on Trinity Sunday.
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HISTORY OF
BOOK sensation in New Amsterdam. Chance soon furnished V. - Stuyvesant with an opportunity to retaliate. Unprovided 1654. with a pilot and unacquainted with the coast, the Golden Sep. 22. Shark, belonging to Sweden, ran in behind Staten Island. Captain Van Elswyck, finding his mistake, dispatched a boat to the Manhattans for a pilot. The crew on landing were taken to the guard-house; eight soldiers were sent on board the vessel, which was seized, and the factor brought a prisoner to New Amsterdam.
The Director-general thought that he could now induce Rysingh to restore Fort Casimir, and with that view author- Oct. 1. ized Van Elswyck to visit him, and to request that he should either come in person, or send a qualified agent to the Man- hattans, to settle the difficulties between them. Letters of safe conduct were furnished for such person as he should Oct. 9. depute. But Rysingh would not accept the invitation. Nothing remained but to detain the ship and remove her cargo to the public store. The factor, previous to repair- ing to the South River, protested against all this ; Stuy- Oct. 27. vesant retorted, and there the matter dropped.1
The affairs of the province being now in a position not to require the personal superintendence of the Director- general, that officer determined to visit the West Indies with a view to establish a trade between Barbadoes, the Spanish plantations thereabout, and New Netherland. He sailed on Christmas eve, in the Abraham's Sacrifice, having Dec. 15. received, previous to his departure, a sumptuous entertain- ment at the City Hall, from the Burgomasters and Schepens, and delivered to Martin Krygier, the presiding Burgomas- ter, the painted coat of arms, the seal, and the silver signet belonging to the city.ยช The Burgomasters and Schepens endeavored to obtain, before he sailed, the right to nomi- nate a list of persons from which the new magistrates for the ensuing year should be selected. But this effort, like
1 Alb. Rec. ix., 236, 241, 242, 245, 246, 263-271.
2 Alb. Rec. ix., 297, 298, 306 ; x., 26, 70. The Chamber at Amsterdam, allud- ing subsequently to Stuyvesant's West India voyage, say : " It has astonished us and given us but small contentment, because it is undertaken without our knowledge or approbation." Alb. Rec. iv., 180.
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NEW NETHERLAND.
all those which preceded it, was unsuccessful. The Council CHAP. continued to fill all vacancies in the board.1
IV. 1654.
The recent demonstration against New Netherland must have convinced the Directors in Holland that unless the question of boundaries was settled, their North American possessions were by no means secure. They brought the subject, therefore, a third time, before their High Mighti- Sep. 29. nesses, calling their attention particularly to the dangers to which those were exposed from the encroaching disposi- tion and superior numbers of the English, who had already usurped, and were still attempting to encroach on, the territory rightfully belonging to the Dutch. With this application was submitted a statement on the boundary question, in which the settlement of the country, from the incorporation of the West India Company to the present time, was reviewed at considerable length. From data therein laid down, it was assumed that the province ex- tended from Cape Henlopen, on the south, to Cape Cod, on the north, Long Island included, "as these have been considered the limits of old." "But, since circumstances prevented the Company occupying, of late, this territory, and as the English have, against all law of nations, come within the limits of Fort Hope on the Fresh River, in opposition to repeated protests, even unto Greenwich, about eight (Dutch) miles from New Amsterdam ; planted on these usurped lands divers towns, villages and ham- lets ; retained these by force of arms, and established several settlements on the east end of Long Island, the whole of which belongs of right to the Netherlands ; and inasmuch as the subjects of their High Mightinesses cannot maintain the limits, which they originally assumed, the line might, with a view "to peace and good neighborship in North America," run now from Cape Henlopen to Mon- tauk Point, embracing all the adjoining islands, and thence to the Pequod, or Thames River, or at least to the Connec- ticut, as the eastern limit ; to include Hartford, New Haven, and the other towns as far as Greenwich, who might be
1 Alb. Rec. ix.,101, 102, 175, 298; New Amst. Rec., Anno 1654.
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HISTORY OF
1654.
BOOK V. allowed their own government, on acknowledging the sovereignty of the States General and the Company, on payment to the latter of such rents, either in tenths or other royalties, as may be agreed on. Foreseeing, however, that it would, after the Hartford treaty, be impossible to obtain such favorable terms as these, it was proposed finally to start from the mouth of the Delaware, and run thence north along the coast so as to include the whole of Long Island, and terminate at Stamford, " which would be divided by a stream from Greenwich," " in which case the little villages of South Hampton and Southold might be conveyed to this state." Fort Good Hope and the lands on Fresh River might, then, be held by agreement as a manor, " together with the plain which lies eastward from the hill to the river." As the Connecticut, by this arrange- ment, would fall to the English, it was further advised that the navigation of that stream should be free to both nations. "But it may, at the same time, be understood that no ves- sels from Fatherland should have free access to that river, except those having a permit from the Directors, or com- missioned by the authorities of New Netherland."1
Nov. 27.
These papers were forwarded to the Dutch ambassadors at London, with instructions to negotiate a boundary line. But this they found impracticable. They were unprovided with any argument or facts, so necessary in negotiations " with this nation." First occupation and possession, with sometimes the purchase of the land, were merely assumed, but no proofs, either of one or the other, were placed in their hands. That the Dutch had neither patent nor evi- dence of purchase had, they remarked, been already object- ed by the English, who now, as far as they could learn, denied that they had any title, either by acquisition or prior possession. Reference had been made by Stuyve- sant in his letters to a provisional treaty concluded at Hartford in 1650, but to prove its existence they had no document, nor authentic paper, the production of which would, in a matter of such importance, be of absolute ne-
1 Hol. Doc. viii. 63-96 ; Verbael van Beverninck, (4to. Hague, 1725,) 606.
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NEW NETHERLAND.
cessity. In the discussion on the Thirty-six Articles, the CHAP. English had already pretended total ignorance of their III. High Mightinesses having any colonies in America, and 1654. had refused to consider in any way this boundary question. And as nothing would be concluded on the subject in Britain, without the consent of the people of New England, the ambassadors gave it as their opinion, that it would be better to treat for a joint commission empowering the authorities in America to settle the matter on the spot. With this view they prepared a draft of certain proposi- tions to that effect, which, with the approbation of the States General, they would submit, at a proper season, to the British Court.' The Company considered that arrange- ments could best be made in England, on the basis of the uti possidetis ; yet they would not object to the reference of the question back to America. As they had not in their possession the papers demanded by the ambassadors, nor, indeed, any copy of the Hartford treaty, they were un- able to proceed further in the negotiation .? They, there- fore, were forced to content themselves with sending in another long statement, compiled from various sources, re-urging priority of discovery and occupancy of the terri- tories in question, and reiterating " the violent and unex- ampled usurpations of the English on lands within the Company's jurisdiction." This document was transmitted to London, but no satisfaction could be obtained. New England had not communicated any information on the subject, and the Lord Protector, having no knowledge of these matters, could not be expected to decide thereon positively, on the mere allegations of one party.3
1 Hol. Doc. vii., 122-125.
2 Alb. Rec. iv., 177.
3 Hol. Doc. vii., 105, 114-126, 129-150, 169, 170, 177 ; Verbael van Beverninck, 612, 688, 693, 694; Thurloe, iii., 477.
1
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HISTORY OF
CHAPTER V.
Baxter proceeds to New England-Returns to Gravesend and proclaims Crom- well-Is arrested with Hubbard-Progress of affairs at Gravesend-Further encroachments on Long Island-Pell's settlement at Westchester-Steps taken by the Directors to recover the South River-Result of Stuyvesant's visit to Barbadoes-The Dutch expedition to the South River-Expulsion of the Swedes-Agreement with Governor Rysingh-The Indians unexpectedly invade New Amsterdam-Collision between them and the Dutch-Massacre at Pavonia and Staten Island-Stuyvesant returns from the South River-Ne- gotiates with the Indians-Rysingh arrives at New Amsterdam-Protests against Stuyvesant-The latter's reply-Rysingh's rejoinder-Memorial sent by the Dutch to Holland-Deliberations of the Council-Excise increased- Treaty with the Long Island Indians.
BOOK V. Jan. SMARTING under his personal grievances, Baxter, on being dismissed the magistracy, repaired to New England, 1655. whence, crossing the East River on the ice, he proceeded to Long Island, and circulated, everywhere, the report that the English fleet had returned victorious from Acadia, and that the Protector had given orders to the Governors of the English colonies to take Long Island from the Dutch, willingly or unwillingly, before the ensuing month of May. The Council at Fort Amsterdam sent Burgomaster Anthony and Van Tienhoven to the English villages, at the opening of the navigation, to allay the threatened ferment. They Mar. 9. arrived at Gravesend to witness the hoisting of the British ensign by Baxter, Hubbard, and James Grover, the last of whom accompanied the act by reading, three times in suc- cession, the following declaration :-
"WE, individuals of the English nation here present, do, for divers reasons and motives, as free-born British sub- jects, claim and assume to ourselves the laws of our nation and Republic of England over this place, as to our per- sons and property, in love and harmony, according to the general peace between the two states in Europe and this country. God Almighty preserve the Republic of Eng-
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land and His Highness the Lord Protector, and also the CHAP. continuance of peace between the two countries. Amen."~
This act of sedition was too flagrant to be passed over 1655. in silence. Baxter and Hubbard were immediately arrest- ed and transferred to the keep at Fort Amsterdam, and their property seized. The public mind was now in too agitated a state to permit a calm election. " The loyal inhabitants" of the village petitioned that it may be further postponed, "until it shall please God Almighty to bless our Mar. 23. Governor, the Director-general, with a safe return." It was not until the summer that circumstances justified the holding of this election. The sheriff, and Lady Moody, "as the oldest and first patentee," were then ordered to June 18. nominate, with the other inhabitants, proper persons to act as magistrates of their town. This nomination was accord- July 8. ingly sent in, but it was accompanied by a strong protest July 9. on the part of the Dutch settlers, who demanded that the new officers be not confirmed, on the grounds, Ist, that the order for the election was never communicated to them ; 2d, that persons were admitted to vote who had conspired against the state, or had fled the country, " tor- tured by their consciences," or had been imprisoned for high crimes ; 3d, that no hired Dutchman was allowed to vote in the absence of his master ; 4th, that several per- sons had publicly stated that no Dutchman should be chosen a magistrate, or if this happened, they would quit the country ; and lastly, because it is required that the orders of the patentees, " who were continually the magistrates, though many of them had been actually exiled or im- prisoned for their malversations," shall be punctually obeyed, which the Dutch settlers averred they could promise no further than it comported with the welfare of the state in which they lived. Public policy and the ends of justice overruled these objections, and the magistrates, having been chosen "by a majority of the inhabitants," were duly confirmed.1
1 Alb. Rec. ix., 287; x., 8, 9, 29, 31, 67, 68, 71-74, 76 ; xi., 6, 12-17, 21 ; Hol. Doc. ix., 165, 232, 233. The Hon. Silas Wood, in noticing the case of Baxter and Hubbard, (Sketch of the Settlement of the Several Towns on Long Island,
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HISTORY OF
BOOK V. Meanwhile a party of Englishmen from Sandwich, taking advantage of the troubles which distracted the 1655. country, purchased in 1653 a tract of land adjoining Oyster Bay on Long Island from the Indians, whereon they com- menced a settlement, and applied for incorporation into the colony of New Haven.1 Complaints of this infraction of the treaty of Hartford were transmitted to the authori- ties of New England in the fall of 1654, but without being Mar. 23. productive of any result. A protest was then served on the leaders of the settlement, who were threatened with prosecution should they persist in their trespass. Oyster Bay was a disputed territory. The Dutch maintained that it was within their lines ; the English pretended the contrary ; and as the point was not worth fighting about, the new- comers were left almost entirely to themselves.2
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